Metropolitan of Philadelphia Borys Gudziak is the main speaker at the Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Washington, DC
“In the twenty-first century, when almost everything can be bought and sold, when truth becomes transactional, when media, politics, diplomacy, and popular culture are predetermined by the antithetic of post-truth, Ukrainians say: ‘No! Not everything is up for grabs. There is good, and there is absolute evil. There is truth, and there are lies.’ And it is performed by sacrificing lives, consciously and willingly,” Metropolitan Borys Gudziak, in his speech at the annual Catholic Prayer Breakfast held on March 14 in Washington, DC, focused on the deeper sense of the war in Ukraine and its significance for the whole world and called on the participants to look into the face of the risen Christ.
The National Catholic Prayer Breakfast was established in 2004 in response to St. John Paul II’s call for a “new evangelization” and is held annually. It brings together religious leaders, politicians, government officials, and laypeople. This year it was attended by over 1000 people.
Carter Snead, director of the Center for Ethics and Culture and professor of law and political science at the University of Notre Dame, spoke about protecting the dignity of the unborn.
The Archbishop of Philadelphia emphasized that Ukrainians demonstrate to the world that there are principles worth living and even dying for dignity, truth, and freedom.
“We see their valor and intuitively understand this is not mindless bravado. On the contrary, it is faith in eternity. Ukrainians are willing to risk their lives because their fear of death is not the end. The hope of eternal life overcomes this fear,” the Metropolitan said.
During his speech, Archishop Borys invited Father Mykhailo Dymyd, whose son, Artemiy, volunteered for the war and was killed last summer, to attest. Father Mykhailo asked the audience to pray and support Ukraine’s fight for freedom and dignity.
The Metropolitan also emphasized the four basic principles of the Catholic Church’s social teaching: respect for human dignity, solidarity, subsidiarity, and the common good, and how we witness them manifested during the war in Ukraine. An illustration of deep human solidarity is the way Ukrainians in relatively safe regions have welcomed internally displaced persons, and subsidiarity — low-level decision-making is the principle by which the Ukrainian Armed Forces operate.
He thanked American Catholics for their prayers, support, and financial assistance and asked them to continue since the war dragged on, exhausting Ukraine’s resources.
The UGCC Department for Informationbased on the materials of Archeparchy of Philadelphia, Department of Communications
